Student Issues A very important issue to discuss with your students in the course introduction is the student expectation of coursework. While we need to be supportive of our adult learners, it is best if we set the expectation upfront that time spent in the online course is similar to expectations for an onsite course. It is important to be clear that it is expected that students will spend approximately 3 hours in the course per week per credit hour. So, if a student is taking 6 hours, they should expect to spend 18-25 hours in a given week on their course work. This can help lessen student frustration when there isn't a misunderstanding concerning what is expected from them.
Faculty Issues Although teaching an on-line course for the first time may seem overwhelming, confusing, and difficult that said once you have the class up and going it may be fairly easy to manage if you developed it correctly. The thing to remember is that technology is great as long as it works. If however it does not work you always have to have a plan B. When students live and die (well at least they think they do) on Bb we as instructors have to help them learn to breathe and relax and give them all the tools they need to be successful in an on-line course.
Student Engagement Many of us worried about student engagement - from a basic student tendency to take attendance less seriously than we do to a desire to employ teaching methods that keep a student enthusiastic about the subject matter. Below is an excerpt from an article by Lisa Lucas of Westchester University in PA, entitled "Awake, Accountable and Engaged," National Teaching and Learning Forum Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 6, October, 2010. republished in full with permission on "Tomorrow's Professor," a listserve for everyone who is or wants to be an instructor. Obviously Dr. Lucas is teaching in a face-to-face classroom, but the use of writing to engage students holds true regardless of the venue, and I have also personally found short writings based on spontaneous questions to provide me with a wealth of feedback. From the students' perspective, I've discovered that I can send an email that highlights several of their responses and they like that - they look for their work in the email! The article can be found in full at the National Teaching and Learning Forum, www.NTLF.com, or by subscribing to the Tomorrow's Professor listserve, https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/tomorrows-professor
"Strategy 1: Using “Intentional Closure” to Help Students Determine and Retain Primary Information During classroom discussions, students frequently have asked what information they would be tested on. I realized many students had become accustomed to receiving a study guide and were conditioned to rely on the instructor to provide them with a synopsis of essential coursework. I purposely did not provide them with a study guide; my belief is the student should be responsible for determining the most relevant information. Yet I witnessed many students struggling to prioritize what was essential material. A strategy was needed to promote student accountability and to help students synthesize the most important information. One technique for helping students to clarify the most relevant lecture material relies on intentional closure of the class session. I ask students to compose two questions about the day’s lesson at the end of each class. Students present their questions at the beginning of the following class to initiate discussion and confirm the previous lecture’s essential information. Composing the questions compels students to review and summarize what was provided during class. It is also an effective closure activity, with all students focused on reviewing the day’s information rather than simply packing their bags and chatting. ... As a result of this activity, I found that students began taking diligent notes since they would use them to formulate their questions a the end of each class period. As students compose their questions, I circulate around the classroom, scan the questions quickly and provide a check or minus for completing the assignment. Note that I am not collecting students’ questions; I’ve learned to be selective regarding papers I take home to grade. A check or minus can be given quickly and is one way that I can objectively grant a grade for class participation. Before dismissing class, I ask a few students to read their questions. Hopefully, their responses give other students an explicit indicator of the essential information presented during class. I then select a few of the oral questions and write them in my plan book. The students quickly learn that I will begin the next class meeting by asking one or two of these questions and that they will be expected to formulate a brief written response.
Strategy 2: Promoting Student Engagement and Participation Through Writing Responses When students come to class, I want them to be mentally engaged as well as physically present. I expect everyone to be an active participant. Often, however, when I asked a question, the same three to five hands were raised while the remainder of the class sat idle (most likely giving thanks that they were spared from answering the question). In this scenario, it was impossible to determine who had prepared for class or completed required reading and who was having difficulty synthesizing the material. Now, to encourage active participation, and in lieu of asking questions to individual students, all students must provide a written response to a posed, content-based question. When using this technique, I often stop class midway and ask a question. Based on the number of hands up, I will often say, “Why don’t you all just respond in writing—you have five minutes.” I always give a definitive time limit and expected quota of lines when using this technique. This provides students with well-needed practice in putting their thoughts into words. Having the ability to formulate written responses that are succinct and to the point is a required skill in virtually all professions. The questions that I ask are purposeful, have a definite answer, and can span the full range of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Each question constitutes a brief quiz but one that requires that students formulate an answer clearly, succinctly, and correctly in a limited amount of time. This does not mean that the answer should be a verbatim response from the text or class notes. The best questions help students make their own meaning by translating concepts into their own words. ... Listed below are five of my most effective questions: 1. Give a five-to-ten-line summary of last night’s reading. Include two or three main ideas. 2. What were three of the most important points from ’s discussion? 3. If you were summarizing today’s discussion for a friend who was absent, what two ideas do you think are the most essential? 4. Define in your own words the term . 5. Tell me three things wrong with this statement: . I have found that frequent use of this technique makes students more comfortable and skilled in explaining their thinking, generates better writing, and, most important, promotes learning, retention, and participation."
1. What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of teaching online? Favorite: Cindy and Anita both agree that one of their favorite things about teaching on-line is being able to take education directly to the student, regardless of their location. It is great to create a community of learners who reside all over the country and may even be stationed abroad, as with military students. Cindy uses Wimba to create a virtual classroom for a synchronous class discussion each week and finds that creates a unique and dynamic class discussion that wouldn’t normally occur in the real classroom.
Another favorite aspect of on-line teaching is the ability to be able to teach from home. This is relaxing and also helps you integrate your “job” with your family. Your family can actually observe you at work!
It is also very rewarding to take students that are new to distance learning and help them acclimate to the various technologies that we use in our courses. Watching students go from no confidence with technology to the point where they are embracing technology and are able to use it in ways they never thought possible. Least Favorite: Without a doubt, the least favorite aspect of on-line teaching are technology issues!! You have to be flexible and understand that this comes with the territory.
2. What are some of the qualities/behaviors of the ideal online student?
The ideal on-line students are extremely organized, self-directed learners. It is helpful for them to have some proficiency with technology, but is not absolutely necessary. The ideal student communicates through various ways such as comments through the Discussion Board, formal assignments or personal e-mails that they are having fun learning through the various resources provided by the on-line classroom. Additionally the ideal on-line student submits their work early so that faculty can either provide feedback early enough so the student can modify their submission if need be. Above all, it is hard to be a passive learner in this environment because everything is “out there” on display.
3. I get the feeling that the best online courses are not just strict translations of a traditional class into an electronic environment. What tips would you give beginning online instructors who want to embrace a more organic vs. linear model as they design their first classes? Or is that model something we need to grow into?
If we are constructing face to face courses correctly they are constructed with loads of active learning where we are requiring students to “construct” their own meaning of the material rather than listen to a lecture in a passive learning mode. If this is the case, than you shouldn’t have to alter your course very much to take it on-line.
It is also important to know that you are not alone! There are a lot of seasoned on-line instructors that can offer advice. Also UMKC has great technology support and instructional design support for those wanting assistance.
4. I have taught in a computer-assisted f2f class for years and have seen some students struggle in that setting, particularly those students who have not traditionally had a lot of access to technology and who have not received good college preparation prior to coming to UMKC. The technology, on top of the more challenging coursework, can be overwhelming for them. Have you seen that in your online classes? How have you helped these students?
To proactively address this issue, our IT team has developed self-tutorial and participates with me in a new student on-line orientation that has been well-received by my students. I have also found that it takes new students about 8 weeks to start feeling comfortable with the technology and so I make sure that I am accessible to assist students with any concerns they have. As the instructor, we are the go to person for our students, and should try and assist them as best we can. When there are technical issues that we can’t assist with, they can contact IT. Sometimes it all might be too much for a student, and in those cases we might work with support services (advising) and suggest they drop and try the course later.
5. Have you seen administrators suggest or require online teachers to increase class size because of higher expected dropout rates or the belief that it is okay to increase class size because there is no seating limit?
It is not possible to lump all courses into one model of delivery and likewise it is not possible to generalize about class size in online courses. The issue of class size is very contextual and requires a customized approach that the faculty member and the dean agree is workable, regardless of whether the class is f2f or on-line.
6. In your subject area, do you feel online students learn better or differently, or is it something else? Why?
Both Cindy and Anita found that the learning experience in the on-line environment has been a richer experience for the student. Students who seek their degree on-line tend to be much more motivated and have to participate in an on-line environment and they are able to multi-task. On-line students tend to be a different demographic than residential students, which may contribute to this.
7. What are some activities or assignments you have given on-line students that you have found to be really effective?
Cindy shared that all of her on-line courses have been assignment based courses, without tests. She tries to incorporate assignments that will be useful to them in their current (professional) environments. She said she remains open to discussing their thoughts on an assignment and giving them some flexibility. Cindy has her students develop a programmatic portolio, now an e-portfolio, which serves as they advance.
Anita has students collaborate in groups and write a manuscript based on a topic of their choice, and see if they can get it published. She has also had a couple authors located in NYC join students via Wimba to conduct an interactive workshop, which students really liked.
9. Are there things beyond the discussion board that you have done to help facilitate group learning in the on-line environment?
In addition to the discussion board, you can use Blackboard group pages, Blogs, the Wiki tool, Turnitin and the Wimba Live Classroom. Wimba can be used to set up synchronous student meetings as well.
10. What are your ‘best practices’ for using the discussion board in blackboard?
The discussion board is a good place to create weekly forums for posting assignments, discussion around a topic, a place to post questions, seek clarification, etc. Weekly forums are nice because because postings and questions don’t get lost in larger discussions. Another advantage to having a common spot to post for the week is that 9 times out of 10, when a student has a questions about an assignment , their peers answer before I do. That saves time for everybody!
Lessons Learned through Experience or Research
Student Issues
A very important issue to discuss with your students in the course introduction is the student expectation of coursework. While we need to be supportive of our adult learners, it is best if we set the expectation upfront that time spent in the online course is similar to expectations for an onsite course. It is important to be clear that it is expected that students will spend approximately 3 hours in the course per week per credit hour. So, if a student is taking 6 hours, they should expect to spend 18-25 hours in a given week on their course work. This can help lessen student frustration when there isn't a misunderstanding concerning what is expected from them.
Faculty Issues
Although teaching an on-line course for the first time may seem overwhelming, confusing, and difficult that said once you have the class up and going it may be fairly easy to manage if you developed it correctly. The thing to remember is that technology is great as long as it works. If however it does not work you always have to have a plan B. When students live and die (well at least they think they do) on Bb we as instructors have to help them learn to breathe and relax and give them all the tools they need to be successful in an on-line course.
Student Engagement
Many of us worried about student engagement - from a basic student tendency to take attendance less seriously than we do to a desire to employ teaching methods that keep a student enthusiastic about the subject matter. Below is an excerpt from an article by Lisa Lucas of Westchester University in PA, entitled "Awake, Accountable and Engaged," National Teaching and Learning Forum Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 6, October, 2010. republished in full with permission on "Tomorrow's Professor," a listserve for everyone who is or wants to be an instructor. Obviously Dr. Lucas is teaching in a face-to-face classroom, but the use of writing to engage students holds true regardless of the venue, and I have also personally found short writings based on spontaneous questions to provide me with a wealth of feedback. From the students' perspective, I've discovered that I can send an email that highlights several of their responses and they like that - they look for their work in the email! The article can be found in full at the National Teaching and Learning Forum, www.NTLF.com, or by subscribing to the Tomorrow's Professor listserve, https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/tomorrows-professor
"Strategy 1: Using “Intentional Closure” to Help Students Determine and Retain Primary Information
During classroom discussions, students frequently have asked what information they would be tested on. I realized many students had become accustomed to receiving a study guide and were conditioned to rely on the instructor to provide them with a synopsis of essential coursework. I purposely did not provide them with a study guide; my belief is the student should be responsible for determining the most relevant information. Yet I witnessed many students struggling to prioritize what was essential material. A strategy was needed to promote student accountability and to help students synthesize the most important information.
One technique for helping students to clarify the most relevant lecture material relies on intentional closure of the class session. I ask students to compose two questions about the day’s lesson at the end of each class. Students present their questions at the beginning of the following class to initiate discussion and confirm the previous lecture’s essential information. Composing the questions compels students to review and summarize what was provided during class. It is also an effective closure activity, with all students focused on reviewing the day’s information rather than simply packing their bags and chatting.
...
As a result of this activity, I found that students began taking diligent notes since they would use them to formulate their questions a the end of each class period. As students compose their questions, I circulate around the classroom, scan the questions quickly and provide a check or minus for completing the assignment. Note that I am not collecting students’ questions; I’ve learned to be selective regarding papers I take home to grade. A check or minus can be given quickly and is one way that I can objectively grant a grade for class participation. Before dismissing class, I ask a few students to read their questions. Hopefully, their responses give other students an explicit indicator of the essential information presented during class. I then select a few of the oral questions and write them in my plan book. The students quickly learn that I will begin the next class meeting by asking one or two of these questions and that they will be expected to formulate a brief written response.
Strategy 2: Promoting Student Engagement and Participation Through Writing Responses
When students come to class, I want them to be mentally engaged as well as physically present. I expect everyone to be an active participant. Often, however, when I asked a question, the same three to five hands were raised while the remainder of the class sat idle (most likely giving thanks that they were spared from answering the question). In this scenario, it was impossible to determine who had prepared for class or completed required reading and who was having difficulty synthesizing the material. Now, to encourage active participation, and in lieu of asking questions to individual students, all students must provide a written response to a posed, content-based question.
When using this technique, I often stop class midway and ask a question. Based on the number of hands up, I will often say, “Why don’t you all just respond in writing—you have five minutes.” I always give a definitive time limit and expected quota of lines when using this technique. This provides students with well-needed practice in putting their thoughts into words. Having the ability to formulate written responses that are succinct and to the point is a required skill in virtually all professions. The questions that I ask are purposeful, have a definite answer, and can span the full range of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Each question constitutes a brief quiz but one that requires that students formulate an answer clearly, succinctly, and correctly in a limited amount of time. This does not mean that the answer should be a verbatim response from the text or class notes. The best questions help students make their own meaning by translating concepts into their own words.
...
Listed below are five of my most effective questions:
1. Give a five-to-ten-line summary of last night’s reading. Include two or three main ideas.
2. What were three of the most important points from ’s discussion?
3. If you were summarizing today’s discussion for a friend who was absent, what two ideas do you think are the most essential?
4. Define in your own words the term .
5. Tell me three things wrong with this statement: .
I have found that frequent use of this technique makes students more comfortable and skilled in explaining their thinking, generates better writing, and, most important, promotes learning, retention, and participation."
1. What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of teaching online?
Favorite: Cindy and Anita both agree that one of their favorite things about teaching on-line is being able to take education directly to the student, regardless of their location. It is great to create a community of learners who reside all over the country and may even be stationed abroad, as with military students. Cindy uses Wimba to create a virtual classroom for a synchronous class discussion each week and finds that creates a unique and dynamic class discussion that wouldn’t normally occur in the real classroom.
Another favorite aspect of on-line teaching is the ability to be able to teach from home. This is relaxing and also helps you integrate your “job” with your family. Your family can actually observe you at work!
It is also very rewarding to take students that are new to distance learning and help them acclimate to the various technologies that we use in our courses. Watching students go from no confidence with technology to the point where they are embracing technology and are able to use it in ways they never thought possible.
Least Favorite: Without a doubt, the least favorite aspect of on-line teaching are technology issues!! You have to be flexible and understand that this comes with the territory.
2. What are some of the qualities/behaviors of the ideal online student?
The ideal on-line students are extremely organized, self-directed learners. It is helpful for them to have some proficiency with technology, but is not absolutely necessary. The ideal student communicates through various ways such as comments through the Discussion Board, formal assignments or personal e-mails that they are having fun learning through the various resources provided by the on-line classroom. Additionally the ideal on-line student submits their work early so that faculty can either provide feedback early enough so the student can modify their submission if need be. Above all, it is hard to be a passive learner in this environment because everything is “out there” on display.
Additionally, Cindy also shared this article from the listserv “Tomorrow’s Professor” about the millennial student that she felt offered some great insight.
http://cgi.stanford.edu/dept-ctl/cgi-bin/tomprof/posting.php
3. I get the feeling that the best online courses are not just strict translations of a traditional class into an electronic environment. What tips would you give beginning online instructors who want to embrace a more organic vs. linear model as they design their first classes? Or is that model something we need to grow into?
If we are constructing face to face courses correctly they are constructed with loads of active learning where we are requiring students to “construct” their own meaning of the material rather than listen to a lecture in a passive learning mode. If this is the case, than you shouldn’t have to alter your course very much to take it on-line.
It is also important to know that you are not alone! There are a lot of seasoned on-line instructors that can offer advice. Also UMKC has great technology support and instructional design support for those wanting assistance.
4. I have taught in a computer-assisted f2f class for years and have seen some students struggle in that setting, particularly those students who have not traditionally had a lot of access to technology and who have not received good college preparation prior to coming to UMKC. The technology, on top of the more challenging coursework, can be overwhelming for them. Have you seen that in your online classes? How have you helped these students?
To proactively address this issue, our IT team has developed self-tutorial and participates with me in a new student on-line orientation that has been well-received by my students. I have also found that it takes new students about 8 weeks to start feeling comfortable with the technology and so I make sure that I am accessible to assist students with any concerns they have. As the instructor, we are the go to person for our students, and should try and assist them as best we can. When there are technical issues that we can’t assist with, they can contact IT. Sometimes it all might be too much for a student, and in those cases we might work with support services (advising) and suggest they drop and try the course later.
5. Have you seen administrators suggest or require online teachers to increase class size because of higher expected dropout rates or the belief that it is okay to increase class size because there is no seating limit?
It is not possible to lump all courses into one model of delivery and likewise it is not possible to generalize about class size in online courses. The issue of class size is very contextual and requires a customized approach that the faculty member and the dean agree is workable, regardless of whether the class is f2f or on-line.
6. In your subject area, do you feel online students learn better or differently, or is it something else? Why?
Both Cindy and Anita found that the learning experience in the on-line environment has been a richer experience for the student. Students who seek their degree on-line tend to be much more motivated and have to participate in an on-line environment and they are able to multi-task. On-line students tend to be a different demographic than residential students, which may contribute to this.
7. What are some activities or assignments you have given on-line students that you have found to be really effective?
Cindy shared that all of her on-line courses have been assignment based courses, without tests. She tries to incorporate assignments that will be useful to them in their current (professional) environments. She said she remains open to discussing their thoughts on an assignment and giving them some flexibility. Cindy has her students develop a programmatic portolio, now an e-portfolio, which serves as they advance.
Anita has students collaborate in groups and write a manuscript based on a topic of their choice, and see if they can get it published. She has also had a couple authors located in NYC join students via Wimba to conduct an interactive workshop, which students really liked.
9. Are there things beyond the discussion board that you have done to help facilitate group learning in the on-line environment?
In addition to the discussion board, you can use Blackboard group pages, Blogs, the Wiki tool, Turnitin and the Wimba Live Classroom. Wimba can be used to set up synchronous student meetings as well.
10. What are your ‘best practices’ for using the discussion board in blackboard?
The discussion board is a good place to create weekly forums for posting assignments, discussion around a topic, a place to post questions, seek clarification, etc. Weekly forums are nice because because postings and questions don’t get lost in larger discussions. Another advantage to having a common spot to post for the week is that 9 times out of 10, when a student has a questions about an assignment , their peers answer before I do. That saves time for everybody!